CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • MAY 3, 2021 17
2021
WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN These 65 professionals demonstrate that construction and design is far less of an exclusively male domain than it used to be. The women featured here lead in all corners of the field, including design, site selection, project management and administration, with specialties in landscaping, office buildings, senior and student housing, health care and data centers. Firms represented range from specialized architecture practices and subcontractors to the largest general contractors. Some are on the cutting edge of green design, winning Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, or LEED, certifica-
tions for sustainable buildings in their use of energy, water and materials. Early in the pandemic, many pivoted to develop safety protocols so that work could continue on-site and projects could be completed. These Notables champion women in their fields, mentoring colleagues so they can advance to leadership positions. Many participate in structured programs aimed to engage the next generation of women in the possibilities of designing distribution centers, renovating historic buildings and building senior housing. By Judith Crown and Lisa Bertagnoli
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METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from the nomination materials submitted. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by editors. To qualify for the list, an honoree must be employed in a construction, architecture, engineering or commercial design firm, have worked on significant projects during the past 18 months and have striven to advance women in the field.
STEPHANIE ADAMCZYK
AMA ADDAI
MARY BRUSH
KATIE CANINO
ABBIE CLARY
Project executive, senior living Ryan Cos. US
Director, site development and utilities Ardmore Roderick
Owner, principal, architect Brush Architects
President Canino Electric
Director, global health practice Cannon Design
Architect Mary Brush specializes in historic preservation. Her firm led the restoration of the Federal Plaza Post Office, Kluczynski and Dirksen Federal buildings, Legler Library and National Public Housing Museum. The pandemic slowed work and payment, but the practice maintained its core staff and recently added a new architect. Brush says she is the first architect and woman in Chicago to perform exterior facade inspections in Chicago and recently rappelled down the facades of the Dirksen and Kluczynski buildings. In 2016, she was elevated into the College of Fellows for the American Institute of Architects. Brush mentors young architects through the AIA Chicago Bridge program. She presents frequently at conferences and lectures at Illinois universities.
Katie Canino’s electrical contracting firm has worked in the construction of testing and vaccination distribution sites capable of preserving vaccine dosages at their requisite temperatures. Last year, the Westmont company supported the University of Chicago Medical Center in converting space for COVID patients. For City Winery, the contractor installed air purifiers and UV lighting, which enabled the venue to operate under pandemic safety guidelines. Canino started the business in 1988 out of her home with her husband, an electrician. It’s grown to a workforce of 40 electricians with revenues ranging from $5 million to $15 million. Other clients have included University of Illinois Hospital, College of DuPage and Willis Tower. Katie Canino is an executive committee member of the Electrical Contractors Association of City of Chicago.
At Cannon Design, Abbie Clary supports the growth and development of the firm’s global health care practice. She’s responsible for overseeing more than $2.5 billion in health care projects over her career. Clary and her team have led health projects across the country, including work with Kaiser Permanente, Rush, UIC and other health systems. She seeks projects that can influence pressing challenges, such as helping people regain abilities after traumatic injuries. Clary joined Cannon Design in 2018 from the design firm HDR, where she was vice president and director for health. Clary has authored articles on the future of health for publications including Healthcare Design and Chicago Hospital and has presented at industry conferences. She founded Women’s Networking Dinners for working professional women in the health care industry.
As a project executive in Ryan’s Senior Living sector based in Westmont, Stephanie Adamczyk leads teams of architects and other professionals through design, construction and warranty. Her portfolio is focused around the Clarendale senior living communities. In the past 18 months, she completed $40 million of construction and broke ground on three of the largest Clarendale communities. Adamczyk is managing preconstruction on four additional communities, and her portfolio under warranty is approximately $175 million. Adamczyk was a member of Ryan Companies’ Emerging Leaders Group, which recommended the company establish an innovation department headed by a vice president. She joined Ryan Companies as a project manager in 2015 and in 2017 collaborated with a colleague to create design standards that are used for all Clarendale projects.
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At engineering firm Ardmore Roderick, Ama Addai is responsible for the development and management of 25 designers, engineers and technicians as well as projects related to public site improvements and utility coordination. As a technical expert, Addai is responsible for updating documentation for the Illinois Toll Highway Authority. She’s coordinating between the Chicago Transit Authority and its engineering consultant on utility relocations for the Red Line Extension Program. Addai has led teams involved in electric and gas distribution design, subsurface utility engineering, underground utility location and survey and land development. She also developed what has become an eight-person design office in Pennsylvania. Addai advocates for women in construction and design through her involvement in the Chicago chapters of Women’s Energy Network and Women’s Transportation Seminar International.
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18 MAY 3, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
SHEYLA CONFORTE
MARGARET COOK
MARY COOK
SHANNON COOMES
STEPHANIE COTEY
Principal and executive director of interior design Solomon Cordwell Buenz
President Painters USA
President and founder Mary Cook Associates
President Hill Fire Protection
Director of special projects W.E. O’Neil Construction
Margaret “Meg” Cook is owner and president of the certified woman-owned business in Glendale Heights that provides commercial and industrial painting, flooring and other services. The company has revenue of more than $30 million with a workforce of 167. When the pandemic hit last year, work at an automotive facility was curtailed. Cook redeployed workers from the closed facility to Walmart stores in the South, which were receiving painting and coating. The company added paid online training to keep employees working and ready to go when other customers opened up. The company has a roster of blue-chip clients including 3M, American Airlines, Cargill, Exxon Mobil and Kraft Heinz. Cook works with the Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity Women Build program to raise awareness for women in trades.
Mary Cook’s firm provides interior architecture and design services to builders and developers. Projects include model homes, leasing and sales galleries, amenity spaces and community clubhouses. The company completed 51 projects last year and has more than 60 projects underway in 14 states. Local projects include five model units at Tribune Tower Residences and model units at 8000 North in Skokie. Clients include homebuilders M/I Homes, Lennar and Toll Brothers. Cook is the author of “The Art of Space,” a textbook used in design schools. She’s a champion of advancing women in design; the firm’s staff of more than 30 designers, architects and professionals comprises mostly women, including the CFO. Cook shares her knowledge of for-sale communities, rental, student and senior housing on real estate panels.
Under Shannon Coomes’ leadership, Hill Fire Protection in Franklin Park has grown to $30 million from $3.5 million in under 10 years. It’s the second-largest sprinkler contractor in the Chicago area. Coomes’ team has sold, designed and executed work at Salesforce Tower, Walgreens’ headquarters at the Old Post Office, Rush University Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She was a project manager and later became branch manager at Northstar Fire Protection. When she left in 2010 to join Hill she started as the general manager and was promoted to president in 2014. She has presented at Purdue University building construction management classes and has spoken at National Association of Women in Construction events. Coomes is on the board of Girls in the Game.
At W.E. O’Neil Construction, Stephanie Cotey oversees the Special Projects Group, which focuses on small-scale construction and renovations delivered on condensed schedules. She manages around 12 employees and serves as a project executive for many of the jobs within this group. With the construction industry hard hit by the pandemic and many projects halted, Cotey’s team found new projects to replace lost revenues. Cotey was previously a project engineer, superintendent and project manager at W.E. O’Neil. During her her master’s program, she traveled to several countries to learn from leaders in construction—from bamboo scaffolding in China to the massive excavation effort at the Panama Canal. Cotey leads the company’s mentor program for high school students in which they are guided through a design and construction project.
As executive director of interior design, Sheyla Conforte leads teams in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Seattle. She’s been with the architecture and design firm for her entire 16-year career and became the youngest partner in the firm’s history after only eight years. In the past 18 months Conforte redesigned the 120,000-squarefeet of headquarters for the law firm Hinshaw and Culbertson. She oversaw the design of the Mondelez International headquarters in the West Loop and the new United Polaris Club at O’Hare International Airport. She also led design for a new headquarters office for law firm Michael Best & Friedrich in Milwaukee. Conforte is a member of the International Interior Design Association, the American Society of Interior Designers and the Young Presidents’ Organization Chicago chapter.
The road to success is always under construction.
T W E N T Y- F I V E Y E A R S
-- Lily Tomlin American actress, comedian, writer
Congratulations to the Crain’s 2021 Notable Women in Construction and Design. Thank you for paving the road to success, despite detours, orange cones, or rough patches. Your unique achievements, ideas, and hard work make the built environment safer, more beautiful, and more equitable for all. You make the building industry proud.
LCM Architects salutes our colleague and 2021 Crain’s honoree Kate Gonzalez. Our inspiring female leaders truly elevate LCM’s practice.
LCM Architects commemorates 25 years as a full-service practice blending skill sets in architecture, design, and accessibility. We serve owners and the professional community, building new and renovated spaces of enduring quality that reflect the imagination of our clients. Devotion to eliminating limitations for people with disabilities puts the firm at the forefront of accessibility and inclusive design consulting. Central to our core values is that the built environment should adapt to people, not the other way around. www.lcmarchitects.com
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CONGRATULATIONS KATIE AND KENDRA
Katie T. Canino
Canino Electric Company
Kendra D. Dinkins
Taylor Electric Company
Congratulations to Powering Chicago members Katie Canino of Canino Electric Company and Kendra Dinkins of Taylor Electric Company for their recognition in this year’s Crain’s Notable Women in Construction & Design awards.
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20 MAY 3, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
BETHANY CRISPIN
NORA DEGNAN
KENDRA DINKINS
STACIE DOVALOVSKY
RADA DOYTCHEVA
Senior vice president, residential business unit Clayco
Vice president Thorne Associates
President and CEO Taylor Electric
Principal and head of design Rada Architects
At specialty subcontractor Thorne Associates, Nora Degnan estimates and runs projects. As a member of the owning family, she represents the company and industry on the local and national level. Early in the pandemic, she developed protocols for how to safely continue construction projects. Thorne Associates specializes in commercial buildings, with clients in health care and data centers. The company currently is managing drywall, carpentry and plaster work at the 52-story tower under construction at 320 S. Canal St. Degnan is chair of the Construction Leadership Council steering committee of Chicagoland Associated General Contractors. She’s also active in the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction and plans the group’s annual Women in Construction Week program. This year, it was a five-day virtual program.
As president of the family-owned company, Kendra Dinkins oversees operations including new business development and project management. Taylor Electric recently completed the Chicago Fire Department’s new Engine Co. 115, the second-largest station in the city. Other customers include Soldier Field, Guaranteed Rate Field, the University of Chicago and Navy Pier. Dinkins began at Taylor Electric as a bookkeeper in 2007 and over time assumed more roles. With the transition to the fourth generation of ownership in 2015, Dinkins was elevated to CEO. Dinkins is president of the Federation of Women Contractors. She’s a charter member and immediate past president of the nonprofit Black Contractors Owners and Executives. Dinkins also is a charter member of the National Electrical Contractors’ Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force.
Vice president, transportation division manager Primera Engineers
Bethany Crispin has 22 years of experience in senior living, residential, mixed-use and hospitality projects on the owner and contractor side. She joined Clayco last year from CA Ventures, where was executive vice president, construction and development, senior living. Previously, she oversaw construction of Anthology of King of Prussia, a senior-living building outside Philadelphia. The facility included 192 units of independent living, assisted living and memory care. Since joining Clayco, she’s been involved in the preconstruction of a 17-story student living tower in South Carolina, a 12-story building in Reno, Nev., and a 27-story apartment building in Minneapolis. Crispin is on the board of Margaret’s Village, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing. She recently discussed her career in engineering and construction at her high school, Mother McAuley.
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At Primera Engineers, Stacie Dovalovsky oversees a 45-person division that includes the civil, roadway, structural, aviation and construction engineering departments. In addition to leading and mentoring her team, she’s responsible for executive management, strategic planning, building and maintaining client relationships, and project management at the woman-owned engineering design and consulting firm. Dovalovsky joined Primera earlier this year from Clark Dietz, where she most recently was area manager. Working for the village of Richton Park, she ensured infrastructure projects remained on schedule and helped secure a $1.5 million grant. Dovalovsky is active in the American Council of Engineering Companies Illinois chapter and has been nominated for the board. She’s mentored students through WTS-Chicago, an organization focused on promoting the development and advancement of women in transportation.
Rada Doytcheva is founding principal of the architecture firm that focuses on city schools, colleges, health care, commercial and workplace design. With $3 million in annual revenue, the firm employs a staff of 16. In the past 18 months, Dotycheva started designs on the pedestrian bridge over the Eisenhower Expressway at the Illinois Medical District. Doytcheva also is designing field houses for the Chicago Park District. Her previous clients include the University of Chicago, UIC and Chicago Public Schools. Before founding her architecture firm in 1994, Doytcheva was associate principal at Loebl Schlossman & Hackl. She’s an active member of Chicago Women in Architecture and presented at the group’s January forum. Doytcheva also has spoken at American Institute of Architects conventions on empowering women in the field.
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A good time to train as an electrician Kendra Dinkins leads family-owned electrical contractor Taylor Electric, which will hit the century mark next year. The company is certified as a Minority Business Enterprise and Women’s Business Enterprise. It specializes in multi-unit residential buildings, schools and churches but also provides maintenance at highprofile venues including Soldier Field, Guaranteed Rate Field and Navy Pier. Taylor Electric also maintains traffic signals for Cook County and the Illinois Department of Transportation. Dinkins began her career at the company as a bookkeeper in 2007 and was named president and CEO in 2015. CRAIN’S: How did the pandemic affect your ongoing work? DINKINS: We experienced brief shutdowns in the beginning of the pandemic. Thankfully, Gov. Pritzker declared construction essential, so we raced to make our job sites safe for our employees and returned to work quickly. While we have been fortunate to not have a huge revenue drop due to COVID-19, we along with other contractors have seen margins get tighter. Capturing the extra costs of doing business during a pandemic (job shutdowns, extra PPE, cleaning costs) is essential.
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Is there a shortage of electricians? With the billions of dollars of work still in play (the O’Hare 21 project, multiple hospital expansions and the Obama Presidential Center), the construction industry has been experiencing a shortage of labor. Mix that with early retirees during the pandemic and a potential infrastructure bill to be approved, we are looking at more shortages to come. Are women coming into the field? There’s always been a wide gap. Even with recruiting, you’re recruiting them into a (male-dominated) culture that doesn’t treat them the same way. You lose a few along the way during the training period. Union benefits don’t include maternity leave. How do you hire and train? Taylor Electric is a union shop; we depend on the expert training provided by IBEW NECA Technical Institute. Becoming an electrician is a rewarding career, with many owners and management teams consisting of former electricians. Our apprentices are given five years of paid on-the-job and classroom training. By the time they graduate the apprenticeship program they will have steady work, earning up to six figures with no college debt. You
can’t beat that. For anyone interested in becoming a skilled trade specialist, now is the time! Have your MBE and WBE certifications proved advantageous? Yes, our certifications have granted us lots of exposure with larger contractors and more high-profile jobs.
How are you affected by the caps on revenue for minority contractors? The size standard for our category is $16.5 million (averaged over three years). At the rate we’re growing, we’ll graduate in three to five years. Once we lose our certification, we become a little less attractive. We’re trying our best to prepare.
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22 MAY 3, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
LISA ELKINS
DARCIE FANKHAUSER
MELISSA GIBSON
DULCINEA GILLMAN
KATE GONZALEZ
D
Managing partner and architect On Point Design Build
Regional partner Transwestern Development
Managing member, partner North Arrow Partners
Associate principal LCM Architects
Se Th
Lisa Elkins leads operations of On Point Design Build, which specializes in design and construction of dental and medical offices. Over the past 18 months, the firm completed an expansion of A New You plastic surgery center to a second location, as well as several women-owned dental startups including a pediatric practice. With women representing more than half of dental graduates last year, many prefer to work with a woman-led architecture team, Elkins says. She launched the company in 2019, which has grown to a staff of nine. Earlier, she founded an architectural practice, 2 Point Perspective, specializing in sustainable designs for commercial and residential clients. Elkins earlier taught architectural design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She’s a regular speaker at the Women’s Business Development Center.
Earlier this year, Darcie Fankhauser became regional partner for Transwestern Development’s national Logistics Group, where she leads Midwest development efforts and operations. She’s responsible for site selection, entitlement, construction, leasing and disposition of ground-up developments. In nearly six years, Fankhauser has overseen speculative and buildto-suit industrial projects. In the past 18 months, Fankhauser was instrumental in executing a build-to-suit deal in Bartlett’s Brewster Creek Business Park for a Fortune 10 company, which leased the entire space. Fankhauser and her team also executed the purchase of 30 separate parcels within a single residential assemblage to develop a new spec industrial property in the O’Hare submarket. She’s a member of the Chicago chapter of commercial real estate development association organization NAIOP and is on its National Forum.
Senior associate, director of specifications Goettsch Partners
Dulcinea Gillman is managing member of the Villa Park design and build firm that specializes in multi-family developments in Illinois and the Midwest. The firm works with municipalities, developers, housing authorities and nonprofits. Recent projects include Flax Meadow Townhomes with 32 affordable townhomes for families in Highland and Altamont Senior Residences with 36 affordable senior apartments in Altamont. Gillman is skilled in identifying underserved areas for new affordable and special needs housing. She was CEO of architecture firm #9 Design and La Mancha Construction, both started in 1999, which were combined as North Arrow in 2018. Gillman says her most rewarding project was the development of permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities on the site of a former Hardee’s where she had worked as a teenager.
At LCM Architects, Kate Gonzalez develops accessibility programs for businesses seeking help complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the past 18 months, Gonzalez managed assessment and remediation programs for Hilton hotels, a top-10 U.S. bank and a large retailer. As many clients have multiple sites, from 10 to more than 10,000, that must comply with ADA regulations, Gonzalez develops and manages programs to assess sizable multiproperty portfolios, identify accessibility barriers and propose solutions. She joined LCM in 2010 as accessibility specialist from the Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.
D cl in co
At architectural and planning firm Goettsch Partners, Melissa Gibson manages the production and coordination of project construction specifications, plays an integral role in quality assurance and control processes and is active in construction administration. Recent projects include the $35 million renovation of Kovler Lion House at Lincoln Park Zoo and the 52-story office tower under way at 320 S. Canal St. Gibson joined Goettsch Partners in 2019 from Epstein Architecture, Engineering & Construction, where she was specifications writer and associate vice president. Gibson has participated in more than a dozen technical programs as a presenter, moderator and panelist and is directing research to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings. She is on the board of the Chicago Chapter of Construction Specifications Institute and is chair of programming.
Hines congratulates
Cori Linnell
on being selected as one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Women in Construction & Design
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DEANNA GOODMAN
KAREN GUTEKANST
STEPHANIE HICKMAN
PEGGY HOFFMANN
MANISHA KAUL
Senior project manager The Walsh Group
Executive managing director, risk management and administration Clune Construction
President and CEO Trice Construction
Vice president, design principal FGM Architects
Principal Design Workshop
Stephanie Hickman leveraged her family’s 40-year legacy in construction when she acquired the company in 2007. She has transformed Trice from a small company to a middle-market utility infrastructure and commercial concrete contractor serving Fortune 500 corporations, top 100 general and infrastructure contractors and public entities. Trice is the first African American woman-owned construction firm awarded prime contracts for ComEd, Ameren, Peoples Gas, Nicor Gas and the Chicago Department of Transportation. Recent projects include Chicago Fire Department Engine Co. 115 in West Pullman, where Trice handled cast-in-place concrete and teamed on the design-build, and the Pullman National Monument. Before acquiring her family’s company, Hickman had a 25-year career as a labor attorney, utility executive and lobbyist. She is on the Museum of Science & Industry board.
At FGM Architects in Oak Brook, Peggy Hoffmann leads interior design for the PK-12 educational practice, focusing on new construction, renovation and additions for schools throughout Illinois. Hoffmann was lead interior designer for the new Sherlock Elementary School in Cicero that was recognized by the Illinois Association of School Boards. Other recent projects include renovation of elementary and middle schools in Glenview and the Student Resource Center
Manisha Kaul, a specialist in landscape architecture, is responsible for business development and project leadership at Design Workshop’s Chicago studio. During the pandemic, Kaul continued to oversee bids for construction for the Chicago Park District’s AIDS Garden, Diversey Play Fields and Natural Area and Wheaton Downtown Streetscape. She also has led projects in downstate Alton and in Sterling Heights, Mich. Kaul joined Design Workshop in 2018 from Biome Landscape Studio, where she was principal landscape architect and implemented resilient landscape projects for educational institutions in Africa. Manisha’s career of more than 20 years includes projects in the United States, Middle East, Africa and India. She’s a member of Urban Land Institute and is on ULI’s University Development & Innovation Product Council.
Deanna Goodman manages clients from major health care institutions. Last year, she completed a new, $26 million Emergency Department at Rush Oak Park Hospital. She helped create a game plan of negative-pressure rooms to care for COVID-19 patients. Goodman also managed the McCormick Place Alternate Care Facility’s first phase of 500 patient beds, 14 nurse stations and other amenities. Goodman joined Walsh as an intern and has been with the company for 22 years. Major projects include the McCormick Place Office Building and the Millennium Park garage. In health care, she’s overseen projects at Loyola University Medical Center and Adventist La Grange. As vice chair of the Walsh diversity and inclusion committee, she’s organized awareness initiatives, created an inclusivity guide, formed employee resource groups and improved the maternity leave policy.
At Clune Construction, Karen Gutekanst oversees administrative functions for Clune’s six offices and 600 staff members including risk management, human resources and payroll. She’s a member of the executive management committee. When the pandemic began, Gutekanst worked with the office and risk management teams to develop job site and work-from-home protocols. She included COVID-19 testing in the company’s health insurance offerings. Gutekanst became the
first female partner in 2012 and last year was promoted to be the first woman executive managing director. She’s been instrumental in establishing Clune’s benefits package, which provides medical insurance at no cost to employees, and an employee stock ownership plan.
at Oak Park River Forest High School. She presents frequently at EDspaces, an annual gathering of industry experts and educators as well as at Illinois conferences for educators. She has been published in numerous journals, most recently in a publication of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials. She’s a past president of the International Interior Design Association.
Congratulations! FGMA Notable Women in Construction & Design
We Build Community. Our projects touch all aspects of life: learning, working, playing, protecting, and worshipping. With over 75 years of architectural excellence in community-based
Peggy Hoffmann
Carol Stolt
IIDA, LEED AP, REFP
ALLIED ASID, WELL AP
Design Principal
Design Principal
design, FGM Architects is proud to shape the landscapes of life. Chicago • St. Louis • Austin • Milwaukee fgmarchitects.com
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24 MAY 3, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
HELEN J. KESSLER
SUSAN KIRBY
JACKIE KOO
LINDA KOZLOSKI
KARRIE KRATZ
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President HJKessler Associates
Managing member/CFO Associated Electrical Contractors
Principal Koo LLC
Creative design director Lendlease
Vice president Gilbane Building
Architect Helen J. Kessler specializes in sustainable design with a focus on universities and Chicago Public Schools. Since leading on the creation Chicago’s first energy code and helping start the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, she has worked on significant green projects. Recently, Kessler has consulted for Northwestern University’s first LEED Platinum projects, the Kellogg Global Hub and Kresge Centennial Hall. Kessler is completing sustainability consulting on the Rubenstein Forum at the University of Chicago and providing peer review for the Obama Presidential Center. She’s also consulted for nonprofits LEED Platinum Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston and the Legacy Charter School in North Lawndale. Kessler is a mentor through the AIA Chicago Bridge program and serves on the board of the Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation.
In 2015, controller Susan Kirby became a co-owner of the 25-year-old electrical contractor, along with two partners. She has been with the Woodstock company since 2001. Current projects include several large distribution centers in Illinois and Wisconsin, supermarkets, school campuses and auto dealers. The company has grown to revenue of $35 million with year-round staff of 60, with more during peak periods. The challenge during the pandemic, Kirby says, is having enough people to do the job and meet quality expectations. The company is using Microsoft Teams software and technology training for field personnel to improve performance and profitability, with the goal of making AEC a preferred vendor for large distribution centers. Kirby serves on the board of the McHenry County College Education to Empowerment Scholarship Program.
As founding principal of Koo LLC, Jackie Koo oversees the architecture firm’s design and construction activities in new construction, adaptive reuse and historic renovations. Current projects include the Sable Hotel at Navy Pier, the first hotel at the Pier, the Altgeld Family Resource Center at Altgeld Gardens on the Far South Side and Surge Esports Stadium, an immersive video venue in Bronzeville. Koo also handled the adaptive reuse of the former Cook County Hospital with two hotels and a food court. Koo established her practice in 2005: Her first project was the Wit hotel in the Loop, which opened in 2009. Koo is involved in the Invest South/West streetscape program, the future UIC Center for the Arts and the Discovery Partners Institute innovation center to anchor Related Midwest’s development, the 78.
At the multinational construction and infrastructure company, Linda Kozloski manages the design process for Chicago projects and supports Lendlease’s national development pipeline. Kozloski helped deliver Porte, a 586-residence building in the West Loop, and is involved in Cirrus, a 350-unit condominium tower; Cascade, an adjacent 503-unit apartment tower; and The Reed, a 440-unit residential tower that will break ground this spring. As a champion of environmentally conscious design, Kozloski has incorporated green rooftop farms with beehives and other eco-friendly initiatives into several of Lendlease’s urban regeneration projects. She joined Lendlease in 2015 from CBRE, where she was senior project manager. Kozloski has contributed to industry panels including the AIASpire Student Leadership Panel and the Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings, The Future of the Chicago Skyline.
Karrie Kratz leads Gilbane’s Chicago office, overseeing strategic planning and managing profit and loss for the local portfolio. Kratz oversaw the construction of the Orchard Condominiums in Lincoln Park. She also helped advance the Illinois Tech Student Housing Development and Revitalization project. As both projects were scheduled to finish near the beginning of the pandemic, Kratz worked with project teams to adapt to the new safety protocols so on-site work could continue. Gilbane retrofitted alternative care facilities on three sites to care for COVID-19 patients. Kratz promotes inclusion by hosting Hire360 courses and offers trade partners opportunities to broaden their skills in the Gilbane Rising Contractors Program. She supports the next generation through her 10year involvement with the ACE Mentorship Program, where she serves on the board.
Pr so ES
NOTABLE WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN Sheyla Conforte IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP
On behalf of Michael Best, we congratulate Sheyla Conforte, Principal & Executive Director of Interior Design at Solomon Cordwell Buenz. Sheyla’s leadership, expertise & artistry set her apart from other designers. We applaud Sheyla & all of the 2021 Notable Women in Construction & Design award recipients!
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
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JULIE LARDENOIT
LACEY LAWRENCE
VICKY LEE
CHHENG LIM
CORI LINNELL
Practice leader, workplace solutions ESD
Senior associate Hitchcock Design Group
Vice president, development Focus
Vice president-construction Hines
Landscape architect Lacey Lawrence serves as lead designer, project manager and environmental specialist for the Hitchcock Design Group Chicago-area office based in Naperville. Lawrence’s team focuses on public park planning and design throughout the Midwest. She’s lead designer for the Garfield Park Conservatory Children’s Garden for the Chicago Park District, which is under construction this year. Lawrence also manages work for the Batavia Park District and the city of Lake Forest. She recently designed and managed construction for the Wauconda Park District’s Phil’s Beach, which was featured in the 1980 movie “The Blues Brothers.” Before joining Hitchcock in 2016, Lawrence was a landscape architect and environmental scientist at Wills Burke Kelsey Associates. She has assisted in preparing presentations for conferences hosted by the Illinois Parks & Recreation Association and Illinois Association of Park Districts.
Vicky Lee leads the real estate acquisition, development and architectural-design activities on multiple projects (total development value $200 million-plus) for both Focus and third-party clients. Recent accomplishments include helping to secure two major mall redevelopment projects (Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills and Fox Valley Mall in Aurora) for Focus, with all ownership and municipal meetings done virtually due to the pandemic. She also led the development and sale of Atworth at Mellody Farm in Vernon Hills, which was leased in just 10 months. Prior to Focus, Lee was a project manager at Torti Gallas & Partners. She participates in various thought-leadership forums, including the ULI Real Estate Forum at DePaul University and the “Adventures in CRE” podcast. Lee mentors women through Focus’ MORE program.
Associate Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects
Julie Lardenoit has worked in each market vertical at ESD (Environmental Systems Design): commercial interiors, mission-critical facilities and high-performance buildings. She now leads the workplace solutions team. The global consulting-engineering firm had sales of nearly $87 million last year with a workforce of 300. Over the past year, Lardenoit’s series of articles, videos and podcasts provided timely information on how to stay safe in the COVID-19 era. Lardenoit opened and led ESD’s first international office in Abu Dhabi for almost a decade, where she participated in the 2018 Women’s Heritage Walk, a five-day desert trek. Lardenoit has been active with ESD’s women’s group, ESD NEW, and co-founded the Women of Willis, an organization to promote women in leadership and provide mentoring opportunities within the Willis Tower building.
Chheng Lim is an associate and senior architect at Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects with control over corporate revenue, profit/ loss and staff development. Responsibilities include design, planning commission, regulatory approvals and building construction at the 147-employee firm. She has overseen 7 million square feet of projects for clients with an aggregate construction cost of $7 billion and 350 megawatts of power capacity. Her data center projects support the internet and cloud infrastructure. Before joining SNHA seven years ago, she worked as a designer at Skidmore Owings & Merrill and at Gensler; she also spent time in Singapore with Ong & Ong Architects. Inside SNHA, she encourages women to lead in design, client presentations and on-site construction to gain the visibility that advances careers.
Cori Linnell leads project design, budgeting, scheduling, bidding, contracting, procurement and construction closeout for a number of Houston-based Hines’ complex construction projects. Currently, she’s handling the interior construction for Salesforce Tower Chicago, a 1.2 millionsquare-foot high-rise on the Chicago River’s Wolf Point site. Another notable recent project is the Orchard, Hines Midwest’s
first condominium project (32 luxury residences) and the final building constructed as part of Lincoln Common. Linnell joined Hines as an assistant construction manager on the Renaissance Center (GM global headquarters) in Detroit. She is the co-lead ambassador for the Chicago OneHines Women’s Network, which supports an inclusive culture.
The McShane Companies congratulates all of the 2021 Crain’s Notable Women in Construction and Design.
• First Female CEO in Company History • NAIOP Chicago’s First Female President • Crain’s Notable Women in Commercial Real Estate
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CHRISTINE LUSSOW
JAIME MAGALIFF
Project executive Bear Construction
Principal Steep Architecture
Christine Lussow oversees the direction, financial outcome and quality of Bear’s construction projects. She was an integral team member on the $11 million restoration of the grand lobby at the Old Post Office. She also worked on the Macy’s Building redevelopment, overseeing the eight-floor Spec Suite and Corridor project for Brookfield Properties. Working as an architect, a general contractor and as an owner’s rep during a 32-year career, Lussow designed hundreds of workplaces, assisted with the renovations of dozens of Fortune 500 firms and aided in the purchase and sale of large blocks of corporate real estate for EQ Office. Prior to joining Bear Construction, she was with GE Capital Real Estate/Arden Real Estate.
Jaime Magaliff’s recent efforts have focused on retail spaces for high-security industries, designing marijuana dispensaries for Viola brands in Michigan and Missouri and Dispensary 33 in Chicago—the only dispensary in Illinois to display cannabis. She also has expertise in smaller-scale residential projects, recently designing an accessory dwelling unit in Chicago. Prior to founding Evanston-based Steep, Magaliff worked as a project architect at Eastlake Studio and as an architect and project manager at Perimeter Architects & Construction. Before relocating to Chicago, she worked in New York City at OMA*NY and Studio MAPOS. She is a mentor to young women in interior design and architecture, preparing and reviewing their portfolios, and also acting as an NCARB supervisor and NCIDQ sponsor.
SHERINA MAYE EDWARDS CEO Intren As CEO of Union-based Intren, Sherina Maye Edwards manages the strategic direction, human resources, marketing, operations and financial performance of the nation’s largest Women’s Business Enterprise utility contractor. Before joining Intren, she was a partner at Quarles & Brady law firm and spent five years on the Illinois Commerce Commission. In 2016, Edwards was appointed by President Barack Obama as co-chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Voluntary Information-Sharing System Working Group. She founded both the Women’s Energy Summit and Women’s Energy Network of Chicago. She is second vice president on the board of directors of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago & Northwest Indiana. She is on the executive compensation committee of SouthWest Water in Houston.
AMY MAYER
MICHELLE MCCLENDON
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Vice president, construction Related Midwest
Project executive Gilbane Building
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Amy Mayer handles preconstruction and cost management across Related Midwest’s portfolio of mixed-use, mixed-income, affordable and luxury developments. She is also the general manager of Quality First, the company’s union carpentry division. A notable recent project is One Bennett Park, Chicago’s first Robert A.M. Stern Architects-designed highrise. Other key projects include Landmark West Loop, 500 Lake Shore Drive, the Residences on Lake Shore Park, Park Tower, the Town of Fort Sheridan and the Mayfair. Mayer has mentored a construction team that is 50 percent women, and she is working toward Chicago Women in Trades’ goal of staffing 20 percent women on all construction jobs—twice the industry average. She was elected to Geneva’s city council in April 2021.
As project executive leading the K-12 and public-sector markets for Providence, R.I.-based Gilbane Building, Michelle McClendon is responsible for management and administration from award through occupancy. A 17-year construction veteran who joined Gilbane in 2020, she has a portfolio that includes corporate headquarters, high-end and multifamily residences, schools and public-use facilities. She is a LEED-accredited professional for interior design and construction and recently joined the board of directors of the Illinois Green Alliance. She has served as an adjunct instructor at Westwood College and National American University, teaching computer applications, business management, construction management and green building. To promote the next generation of leaders in STEM, she and her sister co-founded the Myesha & Michelle McClendon Scholarship Fund for African American women.
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MOLLY MCSHANE
JOY MEEK
MOLLY MEYER
ELISSA MORGANTE
KERRY NUTTER
CEO McShane Cos.
Principal Wheeler Kearns Architects
Founder and CEO Omni Ecosystems
Molly McShane manages the overall operations and strategic direction of the McShane Cos., which achieved its highest revenue to date ($1.6 billion) in 2020 and was one of Crain’s “Best Places to Work” for the third year in a row. She started out as a project engineer before transitioning to the development side, eventually becoming chief investment officer in 2014, helping to guide 25 developments totaling 11 million square feet.
Joy Meek is principal and project architect at Wheeler Kearns Architects. A 23-year veteran of the firm, she also leads its inclusive hiring process, which now boasts 50 percent women, and oversees professional liability insurance and computer technology development. Key recent projects include the Ryan Learning Center at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Night Ministry in Chicago, the West Suburban Community Pantry in Woodridge and the Snowmass Retreat in Colorado. She’s an adjunct lecturer in architecture engineering and design at Northwestern University’s department of civil and environmental engineering. Since 2001, she’s served as a mentor for the Illinois Math & Science Academy’s Student Inquiry & Research Program, working with high school students interested in the field of architecture.
Molly Meyer founded and leads a 35-employee company that designs, constructs and maintains sustainable, working landscapes. Recently Omni was included on the team designing the satellite concourses for the Global Terminal at O’Hare International Airport, built the green roof and terraces at 800 Fulton and completed its headquarters in Bronzeville. Past projects include the O’Hare Terminal 2 concourses, McDonald’s headquarters in Chicago, Harvard Business School’s McCollum/ MacArthur Hall and the Fifth Third Bank Tower in Cincinnati. Meyer’s previous positions include co-founder of the Roof Crop in Chicago, green roof product manager at Conservation Technology in Baltimore and fellow with Robert Bosch Fellowship in Germany. She was named 2020 Illinois Small Businessperson of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Co-founding partner and principal Morgante Wilson Architects
Founder and president Program Management & Controls Services Consulting
With expertise in architecture, interior design and custom-furniture design, Elissa Morgante leads her Evanston-based company on projects ranging from private residences and vacation homes to multifamily, hospitality and commercial interiors. In 2020, Morgante completed (on schedule, despite pandemic shutdowns) the design and installation of interiors at Westerly, Fifield’s newest Chicago rental property. Morgante launched her firm’s interiors division in 2007, leading to expansion into commercial interiors work and projects such as 727 West Madison in the West Loop, Atworth at Mellody Farm in Vernon Hills and E2 in downtown Evanston. In 2020, she helped launch the Morgante Wilson Foundation to help create affordable homes based on Community Land Trust principles; inaugural funding provided support for 14 affordable scattered-site homes in Wilmette.
Kerry Nutter is president of La Grange-based PMCS Consulting, a 21-employee firm that helps manage large public-infrastructure projects. Most recently, PMCS has been managing the budget and scheduling for the $4 billion widening project of the Central Tri-State Tollway corridor, and it also served as the program management office for the CTA Red/Purple Line modernization program. Among notable past assignments are the CTA’s Red Line extension program, the Illinois Tollway’s ISO certification effort, the leadership team on the tollway’s Move Illinois program, and the “Big Dig” project in Boston. Before founding PMCS, Nutter worked for URS and Bechtel. She participates in the Women in Transportation Symposium, which fundraises for scholarships for women, and also supports ACE Mentors for scholarships for inner-city students.
She was promoted to chief operating officer in 2018 and became the Rosemont-based company’s first female CEO in October 2020. She was named NAIOP Chicago’s first female president in 2018, is on the advisory boards of IWIRE and ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative and also serves as a mentor for the Goldie Initiative.
Leading by example to see tomorrow transformed. Thank you for inspiring women across the AEC industry, and congratulations on being named one of Crain's Notable Women in Construction & Design. Mary O’Malley, Senior Superintendent
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MARY O’MALLEY
MEG OSMAN
ASHLEE PFORR
KELLY POWERS
LAURIE PRICE
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Senior superintendent Pepper Construction
Executive director, commercial CannonDesign
Project executive Skender
Vice president Powers & Sons Construction
President CDI Construction
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Mary O’Malley leads all activities in the field, supervising Pepper Construction personnel, maintaining schedules and implementing safety and quality standards. She is beginning work on the Barrington Firehouse and is the lead field manager for Pepper’s new solar panel group. Recent work includes a science and design lab along with security vestibules for the Lake Forest Elementary School District and new cardiac cath labs and
Meg Osman leads CannonDesign’s global commercial practice for Fortune 500 clients across several industries, directing integrated teams on a variety of notable projects for Cboe, Square, LinkedIn, Disney, Atlassian, Nippon and others in recent years. She has been an executive business consultant and design strategist involved with commercial real estate and “future of work” issues for decades, serving clients ranging from large, global businesses like Zurich to breakthrough-tech companies like Upwork. Osman is a member of New York City-based CannonDesign’s Women’s Forum, helping shape programming, mentorship and opportunities for other female leaders. She is a mentor to women on her team and across CannonDesign’s talent network. She’s held diverse professional roles with CoreNet Global and numerous other design and community organizations.
The first woman to hold the project executive role at Skender, Ashlee Pforr leads a team of six construction managers, engineers and coordinators, providing overall project management direction on all jobs. She has managed several major projects recently, including new offices for WBEZ, Upwork and Relativity. She handled a 17-floor, 536,000-square-foot interior buildout as part of a Bank of America relocation to 110 N. Wacker Drive. It included a trading floor with supplemental cooling and uninterrupted power supply, critical-system infrastructure, custom two-story trellises and a monument staircase. Pforr supports women by teaching them to golf, empowering them to capitalize on networking opportunities traditionally viewed as men-only. Pforr also serves in a leadership role with the Habitat for Humanity Women Build program.
Kelly Powers shares executive management responsibilities for operations in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana, overseeing marketing, new business development and partnership opportunities. She has 20 years of experience in engineering, general contracting, project management and strategic planning in all aspects of public and private construction and real estate. Gary-based Powers & Sons is a founder of the Lakeside Alliance, which is building the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. Kelly Powers co-leads its Project Leadership and Community & Citizenship work groups, aiming to maximize contract opportunities for women-owned, minority-owned and other small business enterprises. The goal is a workforce that better represents the South Side and boosts diversity in the apprenticeship pipeline in Chicago’s trade unions.
Laurie Price, owner of Deerfield-based CDI Construction, is responsible for business development, operational activities and strategic direction. CDI has completed 52 projects over the past 18 months, including three with total contract values in excess of $2.5 million: a two-building warehouse/office reconfiguration for CEVA Logistics in Des Plaines, a tenant renovation for Valent BioSciences in Libertyville’s Innovation Park and a confidential U.S. government project involving the coordination of highly specialized structural components. Prior to founding CDI in 1992, Price worked as a commercial property manager and financial analyst for Rubloff and as a CPA for KPMG. Price is a 20-year member of CREW; her current mentorship is to train a young woman to run her father’s general contracting business.
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emergency department renovations at Advocate Christ Medical Center. O’Malley, Pepper’s first female superintendent, began her 31-year career as a carpenter apprentice and has worked in hospitality, retail, interiors and religious institutions as well.
Congratulations +g {Ē4g g ÏíĒ Steep Architecture Crain’s Chicago 2021 Notable Women in Construction & Design
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ALICE REBECHINI
LESLEY ROTH
Vice president Project Management Advisors
Principal Lamar Johnson Collaborative
A 48-year industry veteran, Alice Rebechini is project manager for commercial real estate developments that are generally $100 million in construction cost or greater. She’s a subject-matter expert in multifamily, due diligence, life sciences and pro-forma analysis. Most recently, she was a senior leader on the project team for One Steuart Lane, a luxury condominium development in San Francisco, successfully managing it through the pandemic using virtual methodologies to direct participants spread across the country. Before joining PMA, she was director of facilities projects at the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and also held positions with Aimco, Mesirow Stein Real Estate Chicago, Draper & Kramer and others. She sits on the mentorship panel at PMA and has mentored several young women.
Lesley Roth joined Lamar Johnson Collaborative in February, bringing expertise in urban design and planning to the firm, where she provides design direction, project management and consultant/ client coordination. Before joining LJC she was with Ratio Architects and Solomon Cordwell Buenz. Recent efforts include management of Chicago’s citywide plan, the first of its type completed in 40 years and which engaged more than 250 Chicagoans in 14 community conversations. Other career highlights include campus parks at CPS schools, multifamily housing and various urban-design and planning contributions. Roth is a board member of Territory, a youth-centered architecture and urban-design nonprofit; a diversity committee member at APAIL; and an advisory committee member for UIC’s Master of City Planning program.
PATRICIA SALDAÑA NATKE President UrbanWorks Patricia Saldaña Natke is a founding partner of UrbanWorks. Recently, her firm was design lead on a 164,000square-foot building at John Hancock High School in Chicago; a new 9-acre housing development in the Boston Square Master Plan in Grand Rapids, Mich.; and the West Pullman School Redevelopment, an adaptive reuse of a school into 60 units of affordable senior housing. Over her 33-year career, she’s been involved in more than 5,000 units of affordable housing, seven comprehensive mixed-income developments and more than 70 public school renovations, additions and new structures. Natke is board chair of the Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation and is a past co-chair of AIA Chicago’s Equity Roundtable. She is a part-time professor at Illinois Tech and a guest instructor at Spain’s IE School of Architecture, and she previously was an adjunct associate professor at UIC’s School of Architecture.
TRINA SANDSCHAFER
JESSICA SARAVIA
Design principal, vice president Kahler Slater
Senior architect, director of construction documentation and administration DMAC Architecture Jessica Saravia leads construction documentation and administration for Evanston-based DMAC Architecture, working across various verticals for the firm’s projects at nearly every stage, while also managing the LEED certification process. Upon joining DMAC she led the construction administration of the Hotel at Midtown, the 55-key boutique hotel component of the Midtown Athletic Club, while overseeing the construction documentation of four restaurants in multiple states. Before joining DMAC she was at DKA as project architect for Kankakee Community College’s North Extension Center and Joliet Junior College’s Student Services Center. Recently, she was invited to present at Girls Build, a Chicago Architecture Center program. She’s also a first-year studio instructor in industrial design, architecture and building construction at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
As vice president and design principal for Milwaukee-based Kahler Slater, Trina Sandschafer influences all aspects of the firm’s design process for its residential, hospitality and corporate practices. She also leads the firm’s Chicago Studio, created a design dialogue group to emphasize design culture and showcase work and initiated a mentorship program. Prior to joining Kahler Slater in 2020, she was design principal at Booth Hansen for 13 years. In 2020, Kahler Slater designed or delivered more than 8,000 residential units, 2,000 hotel keys and nearly a million square feet of corporate space. Sandschafer is a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture and chairs the UIUC Architectural Alumni Advisory Board.
SCB congratulates our own Sheyla Conforte and all of this year’s Notable Women in Construction and Design! SHEYLA CONFORTE, IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP PRINCIPAL + EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INTERIOR DESIGN
ONE SOUTH WACKER | CHICAGO, IL
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CHRIS-ANNMARIE SPENCER Principal Wheeler Kearns Architects As a firm principal and project architect, Chris-Annmarie Spencer is involved in all key projects, including such recent notables as the Go Green Community Fresh Market (under construction), Humboldt Park House (under construction), Clearwater Lake Retreat in Minocqua, Wis., and the Care for Real Food Pantry in Chicago. Spencer is also involved in the firm’s inclusive hiring process, reviewing, interviewing, hiring, supporting and retaining staff. In addition to volunteering with programs such as Architects in Schools, which introduces design thinking to elementary school students, she is developing a summer internship program, WKA Lift, to increase diversity within architecture. As an AIA Chicago Foundation board member, she helped establish its Diversity Scholarship program.
REGINA STILP
CAROL STOLT
ROSEMARY SWIERK
MELISSA VENOY
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Principal Farpoint Development
Vice president, design principal FGM Architects
President Direct Steel & Construction
Associate principal Goettsch Partners
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Regina Stilp is a founding principal at Farpoint, which specializes in ground-up and adaptive-reuse projects. Her focus currently is on Bronzeville Lakefront, a South Side megadevelopment that will revitalize the 100-acre site of the former Michael Reese Medical Center, creating health equity, life sciences jobs and affordable housing. Bronzeville Lakefront aspires to 65 percent minority and female participation, including professional services. Stilp’s key projects over the last 18 months include the adaptive reuse of 1308 N. Elston Ave., the modernizing of 6300 River Road in Rosemont and the redevelopment of Green Acres Country Club in Northbrook. Before joining Farpoint Development, she spent 20 years as a principal at Sterling Bay, where she redeveloped office spaces for Gogo, Twitter, Uber, Google and McDonald’s, among others.
Carol Stolt is considered a pioneer in the use of the WELL Building Standard and among the first generation of interior designers certified in this global movement. She leads interior design for Oak Brook-based FGM’s Higher Education and Corporate practices, and she is a senior member of the firm’s Resilient Design committee. Recent projects include the renovation
Rosemary Swierk is the founder of Direct Steel & Construction, a 17-year-old Crystal Lake-based company that offers commercial general contracting, construction management and owners’ representation services. While the pandemic delayed some opportunities, Direct was able to proceed with several projects, including completion of the first phase of an $11 million contract to expand a Veterans Affairs building, with the second phase underway; the construction of an electronic recycling facility; various environmental building upgrades for a local manufacturer; and a sizable project award at USACE at Fort Hood, Texas. Swierk serves as an ambassador at the Women’s Business Development Center and also is a state-appointed board member at the Small Business Development Center. She also has been a featured speaker on real estate and construction.
Recently promoted to associate principal, Melissa Venoy is the youngest woman to hold this position at Goettsch. Her responsibilities include managing multiple project teams on large-scale developments, from concept design through design development, coordination and collaboration with consultants. She has experience with international architectural assignments in North America, the Middle East and two large projects in China: a 3.4 millionsquare-foot mixed-use tower in Wenzhou, featuring office space and a 330-key hotel, and a mixed-use development in Shantou, featuring five towers and a 646,000-square-foot retail mall. Venoy is on the board of the Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation and is a member of the development committee, working on a fellowship and mentorship program to elevate women to leadership positions.
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of the Cook County Board room and commissioners’ and president’s suite, Dominican University’s Multicultural Center and the master plan for the executive MBA program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. Before joining FGM, Stolt was a principal for nine years with Abrams Design Consultants. Stolt is a member of the Learning Spaces Collaboratory, a think tank focused on changing educational design through the lessons learned in the pandemic.
NONPROFITS: Join us to get your word out
Giving Guide
Crain’s 2021 Giving Guide highlights unique ways nonprofits use corporate connections to maximize their reach. Share your story with the Chicago Business community with an informative listing. The deadline to participate is early May. Contact Amy Skarnulis at askarnulis@crain.com
Big Dates 2.1
As a special addition this year, Crain’s is featuring an updated version of it’s annual Big Dates Calendar on June 21. Submit your FREE listing through May 21. Submit your event at ChicagoBusiness.com/submitbigdates21
For more information on the opportunities above, please reach out to Amy Skarnulis at askarnulis@crain.com
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HEIDI WANG
CHRISTY WEBBER
MEGHAN WEBSTER
MAE C. WHITESIDE
ALLYSIA YOUNGQUIST
Partner Worn Jerabek Wiltse
President Christy Webber Landscapes
Principal Gensler Chicago
CEO CKL Engineers
Associate principal Klein & Hoffman
Heidi Wang oversees business development, marketing and staff development at WJW while managing projects from design and master planning through construction. She was project manager and partnerin-charge of 229,000 square feet of supportive and affordable housing over the past 18 months, with an aggregate construction cost of $59 million, and an additional 485,000 square feet of moderate rehab projects with an aggregate construction cost of $59 million. Other recent efforts include Tiger Senior Apartments, a historic preservation/sustainable-reuse project, as well as Martin Avenue Apartments, Ladd Senior Apartments and projects at the schematic design phase. She is helping to establish the Illinois Housing Council’s Emerging Leaders Network, a mentorship/ career-pathways program in affordable housing design. Wang is WJW’s first female partner, and she helps foster a workforce that is now 50 percent women.
Christy Webber manages everything from new business and staffing to signing checks and “turning lights off at night.” Recent efforts include landscaping the 606, a rails-totrails project that weaves through five different neighborhoods, and the Old Post Office, a collaborative landscape construction that required specialized soils, the laying of brickwork, a sport court installation and the procurement of hundreds of native plants and beehives. Webber promotes immigration reform and the need to recognize the Latino workforce as an American workforce. Her secret for mentoring women in construction and design: “Hire them.” Her civic priority is guerrilla gardening, bringing a Bobcat, dump truck and whatever soils and plants are needed to help neighborhoods take back vacant lots.
Meghan Webster has led Gensler’s global education practice for the better part of her 10 years with the firm, growing its revenue by 50 percent while driving strategy, new business, client engagement and thought leadership. She leads a team that has shaped student experiences on various campuses, ranging from Columbia College Chicago’s Student Center and campus master plan to projects at Wichita State University, Illinois State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. With the growth of the life sciences industry in Chicago, she’s been instrumental in amplifying the practice area and rapidly securing work in the space. Before joining Gensler, Webster was an architectural designer at Behnisch Architekten in Stuttgart, Germany, and in Boston, as well as at Studio Urbis in Berkeley, Calif.
In 2009, Mae C. Whiteside founded CKL Engineers, a civil, environmental and structural engineering firm engaged in projects around Illinois. It has since grown into a multistate, multidisciplinary architecture and engineering firm delivering aviation, civil/site, construction management, environmental and structural engineering services. Key projects include the U.S. 41 South Lake Shore Drive relocation, the Elgin-O'Hare Western Access project Pine Dunes wetland mitigation, O’Hare-21, COVID-19 analysis at O’Hare and Midway airports, and Lewis Airport construction management services. CKL also serves as a prime consultant for various construction projects for the Illinois Tollway and the Illinois Department of Transportation. In summer 2018, Whiteside created the Women STEM Entrepreneurs Breakfast Forum as a space for female CEOs in STEM to share experiences.
Allysia Youngquist is an associate principal, shareholder and member of Klein & Hoffman’s board of directors and executive committee. Her responsibilities include corporate-level management, project and staffing coordination within the firm’s architectural group and firmwide technical guidance for roofing and waterproofing. Recent efforts include project managing the $80 million Building Enclosure System restoration, which began in 2013, at Terminal 1 at O’Hare International Airport. As principal architect, she also oversees a 60-building portfolio at Loyola University Chicago. Youngquist is involved with Women in Restoration Engineering and is on the board of the Chicago Chapter of IIBEC, an international association of professionals who specialize in roofing, waterproofing and exterior-wall specification and design.
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